Discovering Your Local Area Network

In the late 1960s, as large college universities and several research labs began to acquire more computers, the need for connections that operated at high speeds was great, and the pressure was great. It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that an answer to the demand was created, they called it LAN.

LAN stands for Local-Area Network, with the ability to cover small areas such as B. an apartment or an office or a group of buildings (schools, warehouses, etc.). LANs have higher data transfer rates, shorter range and do not require a license for telecommunication lines unlike WAN (Wide-Area Network). ARCNET and Token Ring were two widely used LANs in the past. Ethernet and Wi-Fi are two of the most commonly used LANs today.

A LAN is an important component for gamers. By setting up a LAN, players can connect their computers and play with or against their friends. Games like Diablo II and SOCOM allow players to work together in a team while either online or their computers are connected via the Internet or a LAN to work as a team or compete against each other. Computers are usually connected to a HUB via a so-called Cat 5 cable; and the HUB acts as an intermediary. The Cat 5 cable connects to the back of the computer through the Ethernet port of the network card, network adapter, LAN adapter or NIC (Network Interface Card). A NIC operates at both the physical layer and the data link layer; It allows for a low-level addressing system using MAC addresses, also known as IP addresses, and physical access to the network medium (the HUB). Not all LANs are the same; Some use wired while others are wireless.

While there are other network technologies, the Ethernet network card has been at the forefront since the mid-1990s due to its low cost and ease of integration and use. Each Ethernet network card has a unique 48-bit serial number stored in ROM. The serial number is the Mac address of your computer. The MAC address for each computer must be unique; otherwise, only one computer with a given Mac address could be online and connected to the LAN at a time. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is responsible for ensuring that each unique MAC address is assigned to interface controller vendors; This is so that no two network cards share the same Mac address.

Network cards used to be expansion cards that had to be plugged into the motherboard. Most new computers have the network card built into the motherboard. Some even have two built-in ports, allowing the computer to connect to multiple networks. Some companies have started using fiber optics instead of Cat 5 cables or USB cables because fiber optics are immune to electromagnetic interference. Optical fibers are made of glass or plastic instead of metal and carry light along their entire length. Electrical signals sent over fiber optics degrade less during transmission than signals sent over metal wires (Cat-5 cable and USB cable).

Thanks to Victor Epand | #Discovering #Local #Area #Network